I've been a Brandon Tate apologist since we traded Moss. I've always felt this kid would fill in admirably and at least start taking the top off the defense. Nobody can be Randy, even an older Randy, so I wasn't going to try to fit Tate into that mold.

For the first time all year (last year didn't count really), I felt disappointed in seeing how Tate performed. Some key drops and on some plays, even with single coverage, he couldn't get open. I also felt Brady losing trust in him as the game wore on.

He could just have had a bad game. I know he played well against Minnesota but truthfull, one TD was on a broken play and Brady improvisation and the other play was a blatant pick by Brady but the Vikings guy let it get through. Still scored points as a result of those catches but you can't expect those types of plays in January.

I'm worried about his progress as well. There was one play on third and long that Brady put in the perfect spot, but Tate had it go right through his hands and bounce off his chest. He has only been getting around one catch per game and his 65 yard TD last week was more a product of blown coverage and great pocket presence by Tom Brady. Hopefully he comes around and stuns, but at the very least he's a decent depth receiver that is great on kick returns.

Exactly. The more I look at our receiving core now, the more I see Belichick using on of our #1s on a receiver. I know the supposed obvious pick is a running back but I don't see us drafting an RB in the first round. I just don't see it happening. I live in Georgia and boy, AJ Green is a monster. Would love to have a guy like that on board where throw it in his zip code and he comes down with it.

I get the whole "Brady's new favorite receiver is the open one" but the problem is: THERE IS NO OPEN RECEIVER AND HE'S GETTING KILLED BACK THERE JUST WAITING. WHEN HE DOES FIND YOU, YOU DROP IT OF FUMBLE IT.

I'd love to ship a #1 and a #2 for Fitzgerald but I know that ain't happening.

Give the kid a break. After all that third down pass only hit him on one of the numbers on his chest and wasn't between the two numbers. What did you expect? Miracles?

As bad as he was, Gronkowski was worse and, taking his experience and past performance into account, Brady was the worst of all three. IOW, even though the percentage dropoff from Brady was less than either of them, the total value of that dropoff was much greater. 50% of 1000 is much greater than 90% of 100 so that the dropoff is greater.

I get the whole "Brady's new favorite receiver is the open one" but the problem is: THERE IS NO OPEN RECEIVER AND HE'S GETTING KILLED BACK THERE JUST WAITING. WHEN HE DOES FIND YOU, YOU DROP IT OF FUMBLE IT.

With regards to the WR's...Its starting to feel like 2006 all over again

Yeah, the entire team was terrible last game but he still only has 16 receptions for 251 yards and one TD on the season so far and one of those was a great play by Brady for a 65 yard TD pass. He also has one fumble. For a player that was expected to take Moss' place as a downfield threat he hasn't performed as expected. Hopefully that changes, but for him to drop the ball in clutch situations when he's actually open sends some bad signals on his progress.

I, for one, would like to see more production from Tate as a receiver time is not on his side. He needs to step up now and begin to make a difference in this offense and that means he needs to get open and most importantly, CATCH THE BALL....

I still see a guy who runs bad routes sometimes. And the drops really hurt the team. I know that Brady and the offense are probably taking what the defense gives them, but to me, getting the ball in Tate's hands and letting him get some YAC may not be a bad thing. He is this team's default deep threat since Moss was traded, but I'm not so sure the Pats shouldn't do more to get him more touches at times in the short to intermediate game.

When you rely on young guys, sometimes they make you look like a genius and at others they make mistakes that inexperienced players do and you look like the goat. Let's face it, this might be an educational year for Gronkowski, Tate, Hernandez and Price. And as a result, there will be games like this.

I think the big picture is that Tate isn't quite ready. The Pats had the chance to sign numerous very good FA receivers in off season and went tw/ Moss, Welker, Tate, Edelman ...etc. and now are getting burned.

Glad we are 6-2, but in Kraft/Belicheck's mind this is a rebuilding year - next year = 6 draft choices in first 3 rounds and plenty below cap to sign FA's ONCE THE LABOR UNCERTAINTY ENDS.

How could anyone NOT be concerned about his progress? He's their best athlete back there but it's not translating to receptions and yards if you take out that Brady miracle play. He should be able to beat 1 on 1 coverage with his athleticism. Does anyone see him getting jammed at the line too much? Is it an obvious problem like that? Is he like Darius Butler? A great athlete who's skills don't translate to the field?

Could it possibly be that our offensive system is not conducive to success for young players? Could it be that we are slowly becoming the most predictable team in the NFL again? Could it be that the lack of any kind of consistent ground attack are making us vulnerable to the dreaded "3 and out"? Or is it just because all of these top round picks are just busts? Or oh yeah Brady isn't executing?!?!?!?!

Anybody see us run more then twice in a row yesterday?

Anybody else see Brady get blown up by a blitz because our shotgun is predictable?

No No our offense is great and we are the best team in the league? Right?

I hope our Merriweather and Chung are not injured! We may need our defense to carry a stagnant and predictable offense when the weather turns, because we will not run the football.

To those who blame the defense I say it is awfully hard to stop a guy when he gets 30 carries and has been on the field ALL DAY LONG.

Actually, I think we did try to establish the run early. About half of the first dozen or so plays were runs, with BJGE carrying the ball. I suspect the Pats' game plan called for BJGE to carry a lot of the burden yesterday, but that game plan didn't work out because the running game was so unproductive. The O-Line was not creating holes and BJGE doesn't have the skills to make things happen without good blocking. The inability to produce in the running game led us to go to our usual spread/shotgun formations. That worked okay at times, but we also started to become very predictable and our mistakes (fumbles, dropped balls, inaccurate passes) ended up killing us. The big problem with our offense is that without a strong running game and without a strong deep game, we end up becoming very easy to defend against. The Pats offense seems to move best this year when we have success running the ball with Brady under center. We tried that early in the game yesterday and got almost nothing out of it. From that point on, we became a very predictable . . . and very ineffective . . . offense, especially since our guys weren't executing well.

I think Tate is progressing, but not fast enough for what we need. It's clear we are having major issues at the WR position, with losing Moss, Wes on 1 leg, Branch banged-up, Edelman not able to stay healthy, etc, etc. The fact is we need Tate to step his game up and contribute, but I don't think it needs to be Mossesque. Just get open, make about 5 catches a game, and don't fumble or drop passes...should be easy, right?....

In the big picture, I just don't think Tate is a #1 or #2 WR. And, i don't think he will grow into it. I think he will make a nice 3rd receiving option when we are in 3 WR sets. He has no separation ability, seems to run poor routes, and his hands are not the best for the position. He's a good kick returner sure, but that doesn't always translate into WR. This is just proving the point. BTW..I really hope I am wrong about him.

It appears that Tate and Butler are both suffering from Beyondsuckasitis. It's a rear disease that affects young athletes who arn't cutting it. Maybe coach should stop trying to hit the lottery with projects and actually draft a stud for a change.

And By the way notice how Cleveland neutralized our Kick return game. Expect to see a lot more of that.

I've been a Brandon Tate apologist since we traded Moss. I've always felt this kid would fill in admirably and at least start taking the top off the defense. Nobody can be Randy, even an older Randy, so I wasn't going to try to fit Tate into that mold. For the first time all year (last year didn't count really), I felt disappointed in seeing how Tate performed. Some key drops and on some plays, even with single coverage, he couldn't get open. I also felt Brady losing trust in him as the game wore on. He could just have had a bad game. I know he played well against Minnesota but truthfull, one TD was on a broken play and Brady improvisation and the other play was a blatant pick by Brady but the Vikings guy let it get through. Still scored points as a result of those catches but you can't expect those types of plays in January. What say you?Posted by apdynasty23

I am also dissapointed in Tate. HE drops way too many passes and he often cant get open with single coverage. The "hes a young player" card is getting really old. He needs to be able to hold on to the football when he gets his hands on it. In my mind.....hes a rotation guy kind of in the mold of Gaffney at best if he learns how to catch the damn football.

I am not happy with Tate's progress so far. I think the Pat's need to give Taylor Price a chance to see what he can do. He should be able to at least give similar numbers that Tate is putting up. I know Price is raw, but he has good size, good hands, and not afraid of going over the middle. I remember reading about him in the senior bowl practices that the DB's had a hard time staying with him due to his speed. It's worth a shot, we don't have much to lose by giving him a shot. I have been saying since the beginning of the season that the Pat's need to add a stud WR in the draft. There are a few in the top of the draft, Green, Jones, and Baldwin all have size and speed to be deep threats.

As a WR he's been terrible all year. Anyone who watched the Vikings game should know that the 2 big catches Tate made were:

1.) a bad pass by Brady that should have been INT, but went through the defenders arms into the hands of Tate. Note: Tate was well covered on the play. The Pats got lucky.

2.) a busted play led to a 65-yard TD catch as Brady escaped the pocket, rolling out to his left, and caught CB Asher Allen peeking into the backfield, allowing Tate to get open enough for Brady to find him.

Those 2 plays aside, Tate looks like he doesn't belong at WR. He's been another Bethel Johnson, good for a few KO rets and the occaisional big play, but nothing else. Another BB whiff of a WR in the draft. He's had several of them since 2004. Should have taken Wallace. Steelers got him right after Tate. Not good.

As for Taylor Price, he's yet to suit up for a game. My question is, with the passing game struggling so badly, is he not a better option than Tate right now? If not, then why isn't he on IR. He's only wasting roster space. I guess, Price is the latest whiff, by BB.

Comparing Tate with Wallace, it seems that BB is going with athletic potential over high-level college production. It's not working. Insanity is doing the same thing over again, while expecting a different result.